Luciferase and photoprotein

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a polynucleotide or polynucleotides encoding  Oplophorus  luciferase which is composed of 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins, or the 19 kDa photoprotein, the recombinant secretional  Oplophorus  luciferase or the 19 kDa photoprotein encoded by the polynucleotide(s), an expression vector containing the polynucleotide(s) and a host transformed with the vector. 
     Further, the invention provides a method for producing the recombinant  Oplophorus  luciferase or the photoprotein. 
     These proteins could be recombinantly produced by culturing the host cell or by in vitro translation system using the recombinant expression vector.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel luciferase derived from Decapoda. More specifically, the invention relates to a secretional luciferase from Oplophorus gracilirostris, which is composed of 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins. The invention also relates to polynucleotides encoding at least one of these proteins, a recombinant expression vector comprising at least one of these polynucleotides, a host cell transformed with said vector, and process for producing said photoprotein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The genes encoding luciferases or photoproteins which have been reported are listed in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Reported genes of photoproteins and luciferases Discoverer (publication Gene Accession Protein Origin year) No. 1. Photoprotein Aequorin Aequorea Inouye et al. AEVAQ440X: victoria (1985) L29571 Aequorea Prasher et al. AEVAEQA: victoria (1987) M16103 Clytin Clytia Inouye & Tsuji CY1APOCLYT: gregarium (1993) L13247 Mitrocomin Mitrocoma Fagan et al. MITMI17: cellularia (1993) L31623 Obelin Obelia Illarionov et OLU07128: longissima al. (1995) U07128 2. Luciferase Firefly Photinus de Wet et al. PPYLUC: pyralis (1987) M15077 Luciola Matuda et al. FFLLUC: cruciata (1989) M26194 Luciola Tatsumi et al. LLLUCI: lateralis (1992) X66919 Luciola Cho et al. LLLUCIFMJ: lateralis (1995) Z49891 Luciola Devine et al. mingrelica (1993) Photuris Zenno et al. D25415: pennsylvanica (1993) D25415 Photuris Ye et al. (1997) PPU31240: pennsylvanica U31240 Pyrocoelia Ohmiya et al. PIBLUCA: miyako (1995) L39928 Hotaria Ohmiya et al. HOTLUCI: parvula (1995) L39929 Glow worm Lampyris Sala-Newby et LNLUCPROT: noctiluca al. (1996) X89479 Click Pyrophorus Wood et al. beetle plagiophthalamus (1989) Railroad- Phrixothrix Viviani et al. AF139644: worm vivianii (1999) AF139644 Phrixothrix Viviani et al. AF139645: hirtus (1999) AF139645 Vargula Vargula Kazami et al. Pat. Appln. No. hilgendorfii (1988) JP63-199295 Thompson et VAHLUC: al. (1989) M25666 Renilla Renilla Lorenz et al. RELLUC: reniformis (1991) M63501 Gonyaulax Gonyaulax Bae & Hastings GONLUCA: polyedra (1994) L04648 Bacteria Vibrio Foran & Brown VFLUXAB: fischeri (1988) X06758 Vibrio Cohn et al. VIBHALUXA: harveyi (1985) M10961 Johnston et al. VIBHALUXA: (1986) M10961 Photobacterium Illarionov et PLLUXABG: leiogathis al. (1988) X08036 Lee et al. PHRLUX: (1991) M63594 Photobacterium Ferri et al. PHRLUXABDF: phosphoreum (1991) M65067 Xenorhabdus Johnston et al. XENLUXABB: luminescence (1990) M55977 Szittner & XENLUXAB: Meighen M57416 (1990) Kryptophanaron Haygood KRYLUC: alfredi (1986, 1990) M36597 Alteromonas Zenno et al. Pat. Appln. No. hanedai (1994) JP06-035450

These photoproteins and luciferases are an industrially important protein and have been utilized, for example, as a reporter enzyme. Various methods for detecting an analyte using luminescent reactions of these enzymes have been developed, and also some apparatuses to be used in these methods have been improved and widespread. Among these known photoproteins and luciferases, however, there is no enzyme applicable to extensive purposes. Consequently, one has to choose a proper enzyme for individual purpose.

Among the prior art luminescent substrates (often referred to as luciferin), those having the determined structures are only the substrates represented by formulas (1)–(8):

The luminescent substrates include species specific and species non-specific substrates. The minimum unit in the enzymatic bioluminescent reaction consists of a luminescent enzyme (luciferase), a luminescent substrate (luciferin) and molecular oxygen. A luminescent reaction which requires other components such as a co-enzyme or a supplemental molecule is also reported.

Examples of the luciferase with luminescence in minimum unit include those derived from Renilla, Cypridina and Gonyaulax. The luciferins corresponding to these luciferases have very complicated structures as shown in the above formulas (4) and (5). The methods for synthesizing Cypridina and Gonyaulax luciferins are already known, but yield is remarkably low due to their complicated synthesizing process. Though the luciferins extracted from natural products are also used, they are very expensive with little industrial utility.

On the contrary, Renilla luciferin known as coelenterazine and derivatives thereof are commercially available and inexpensive, because various methods for the production thereof have been established.

Among the photoproteins in Table 1, a secretional luciferase is only Cypridina luciferase. The structure of the gene is reported in Thompson, E. M., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 86, 6567–6571 (1989) and the application of the gene is reported in Inouye, S., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89, 9584–9587 (1992).

In the construction of a bioassay system such as a drug screening system, the secretional luciferase has an industrial advantage in that the luminescence activity can be detected in living cells without cell disruption using the luciferase extracellularly secreted as a reporter. Generally, a secretional protein is not particularly difficult to produce if a suitable host-vector system is selected. Further, the purification of a recombinant protein from cultured media is easier in comparison with the purification from a cell extract. Thus, mass production of the secretional luciferase may advantageously hold down purification costs involved.

A particularly useful luciferase involves a luminescent system wherein the luminescent reaction occurs only among the minimal unit, i.e. a luciferase, a luciferin and molecular oxygen, the luciferin being coelenterazine or a derivative thereof which is readily available, and the luciferase itself being a secretional protein. A protein and a gene of such luciferase are advantageous not only scientifically but also industrially. However, isolation of gene encoding such luciferase and expression thereof in a living cell has not been reported yet.

A luciferase derived from a luminous shrimp belonging to Decapoda has been reported as a secretional luciferase, the luminescent substrate of which is coelenterazine. It is known that a luminous shrimp involves a secretional luciferase (enzyme) and that a blue luminescence is emitted by the reaction of the luciferase, a luminescent substrate luciferin and molecular oxygen.

The detailed classification of globally living luminous shrimps is disclosed in Herring, P. J., J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K., 56, 1029–1047 (1976). The only biochemical study of luciferase of luminous shrimp is reported by Shimomura et al., on a luciferase of the luminous shrimp Oplophorus gracilirostris living in the Suruga Bay, Sizuoka, Japan (Biochemistry, 17, 994–998 (1978)). This study report discloses a luciferase having a molecular weight of 130,000 which is composed of the tetramer of a polypeptide having a molecular weight of 31,000. The literature also reports that the luciferase has a quantum yield of 0.32 at 22 C, a high specific activity of 1.75×10¹⁵ Photons/s. mg, an optimum light emission at 40 C and an excellent heat stability. It also describes that the luminescent reaction proceeds in a wide range of pH.

The luciferin in the luminescent reaction of Oplophorus luciferase is coelenterazine represented by the above formula (2), which is also a luminescent substrate in the luminescent reactions of Renilla luciferase and a photoprotein, aequorin. The most important difference between these luminescent enzymes and Oplophorus luciferase is that Oplophorus luciferase has very broad substrate specificity in comparison with those of Renilla luciferase and aequorin. Oplophorus luciferase is more preferable than other luciferases, because it can utilize as a substrate bisdeoxycoelenterazine which is an analogue of coelenterazine and is available at a low cost.

However, either the protein structure or the gene structure of Oplophorus luciferase of a secretional type has not been elucidated. This is because living luminous shrimp, which are mostly living in the deep-sea, are very difficult to obtain in a large amount. Furthermore, population of the shrimp is decreasing due to the environmental changes. Therefore, construction of gene library from Oplophorus gracilirostris as well as early isolation of a gene encoding Oplophorus luciferase are desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide polynucleotides encoding Oplophorus luciferase and a luminescent subunit thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide the recombinant secretional Oplophorus luciferase and the subunit encoded by the polynucleotides.

Another object of the invention is to provide an expression vector containing the polynucleotide(s) and a host transformed with the vector.

Further object of the invention is to provide a method for producing the recombinant Oplophorus luciferase or the recombinant photoprotein.

As a result of the isolation and purification of a secretional luciferase from Oplophorus gracilirostris, the present inventor found that Oplophorus luciferase is composed of 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins. Then, the partial amino acid sequence of each protein was determined and the cloning of the proteins was carried out based on the information of their partial amino acid sequences. The genes coding for the two proteins was successfully cloned and the nucleotide sequences of the genes and the amino acid sequence of these proteins encoded by the gene could also be determined. Further, the present inventor has succeeded in preparing the expression vector containing the polynucleotide coding for each gene and a host such as a microorganism or a cultured animal cell which had been transformed with the vector. These proteins could be recombinantly produced by culturing the host cell or by in vitro translation system using the recombinant expression vector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the determination of molecular weight of purified Oplophorus luciferase by gel filtration.

FIG. 2 shows the alignment of the leucine-rich repeats structure of the 35 kDa Protein.

FIG. 3 shows the Western blot analysis of Oplophorus luciferase using the anti-Oplophorus luciferase polyclonal antibody according to the invention.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the restriction map of the 19 Kda protein and the construction of the expression vector.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the restriction map of the 35 Kda protein and the construction of the expression vector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a photoprotein having a molecular weight of 19 kDa is one component of Oplophorus luciferase.

In one embodiment of the invention, the 19 kDa protein having a luminous activity contains an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of:

-   -   (a) an amino acid sequence for amino acids at positions 28–196         of the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 2; and     -   (b) an amino acid sequence of (a) in which one or several amino         acids are deleted, substituted or added.

In another embodiment of the invention, the photoprotein further comprises an amino acid sequence for purification and/or a signal peptide sequence for extracellular secretion or intracellular transport, for example, a signal sequence contained in positions 1–27 of the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 or a signal peptide sequence known in the art.

Examples of the signal peptide for the extracellular secretion include eucaryotic secretional signal peptides known in the art (see, e.g., von Heijne, G. Eur. J. Biochem 133 (1983), pp. 17–21) and procaryotic secretional signal peptides known in the art (see, e.g., von Heijne, G. & Abrahmsen, L. FEBS Lett. 244 (1989), pp. 439–446).

Examples of the signal peptide for the intracellular transport include the signal peptides for the transport to mitochondria (Gavel, Y. & von Heijne, G., Protein Engineering 4 (1990), pp. 33–37), for the transport to chloroplast (see, e.g., Gavel, Y. & von Heijne, G., FEBS Lett. 261 (1990), pp. 455–458) and for the transport to nuclear (see, e.g., Dingwall, C. & Laskey, R. A., Trends in Biochem. Sci. 16 (1991), pp. 478–481).

According to the invention, a protein having a molecular weight of 35 kDa is another component of Oplophorus luciferase. The 35 kDa protein contains an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of:

-   -   (a) an amino acid sequence for amino acids at positions 40–359         of the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 4; and     -   (b) an amino acid sequence of (a) in which one or several amino         acids are deleted, substituted or added.         Said protein further comprises a signal sequence contained in         positions 1–39 of the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 4.

Further, the present invention provides a polynucleotide encoding the photoprotein having a molecular weight of 19 kDa. Such polynucleotides include a deoxyribonucleic acid molecule such as cDNA or a genome DNA, a ribonucleic acid molecule such as mRNA and a derivative thereof.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the polynucleotide encoding the 19 kDa protein which contains the luminous activity comprises:

-   -   (a) a polynucleotide sequence of positions 46–633 of the         sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1;     -   (b) a polynucleotide sequence hybridizing to the polynucleotide         of (a) under the stringent hybridization condition and encoding         a photoprotein; or     -   (c) a polynucleotide sequence complementary to the sequence (a)         or (b).

The invention also provides a polynucleotide encoding a protein having a molecular weight of 35 kDa which is one component of Oplophorus luciferase.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the polynucleotide comprises:

-   -   (a) a polynucleotide sequence of positions 79–1155 of the         sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 3;     -   (b) a polynucleotide sequence hybridizing to the sequence of (a)         under the stringent hybridization condition; or     -   (c) a polynucleotide sequence complementary to the sequence (a)         or (b).

In another embodiment of the invention, the foregoing polynucleotide encoding the 19 kDa and/or 35 kDa protein may comprise an additional poly- or oligo-nucletodie encoding a signal peptide known in the art, e.g., the peptide as described in the afore-mentioned literatures.

According to the invention, a method for generating the luminescence comprises reacting the luciferase composed of the 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins, or the 19 kDa protein with coelenterazine or derivatives thereof as a substrate. The luminescent reaction can occur by the luciferase or the 19 kDa protein as an enzyme, coelenterazine or derivatives thereof as a substrate luciferin and molecular oxygen. The luminescent reaction can be performed at pH of 5.5 to 11, preferably 7.0 to 11. The reaction temperature is in the range of 10° C. to 50° C., preferably 20° C. to 35° C.

According to the invention, a recombinant vector comprises the polynucleotide encoding the 19 kDa protein or the polynucleotide encoding the 35 kDa protein as an insert. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the recombinant vector is a recombinant expression vector capable of transcribing the polynucleotide of the invention. Such a vector can be prepared by any techniques known in the art.

A vehicle used for the construction of the recombinant vector of the protein of the invention may be any vehicle known in the art that is suitable for in vitro translation system or the expression system using a host cell, for example, microorganism such as E. coli and yeast or a cultured animal cell. Such vehicles are commercially available.

Examples of the vehicle for the in vitro translation and the expression in an animal cell include pTargetT vector incorporating the immediate-early enhancer/promoter from Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) containing T7 promoter sequence and multi-cloning site downstream thereto, pSI vector (Promega, Madison, Wis., USA) incorporating SV40 enhancer and SV40 early promoter, pBK-CMV, CMV-Script, pCMV-Tag and pBK-RSV (Stratagene, USA) and the like.

Examples of the vehicle for the expression in E. coli include pET expression vector series incorporating T7 promoter (e.g., pET3a, pET27b(+) and pET28a(+); Novagen, Madison, Wis., USA) and the like.

Examples of the vehicle for the expression in yeast include pIC expression vector series incorporating the promoter from alcoholoxydase (e.g., pPIC9K, PIC3.5K; Invitorgen, La Jolla, Calif., USA) and the like.

The present invention further provides a host cell transformed with the recombinant vector. Examples of a host cell include a microorganism, e.g., E. Coli and yeast and a cultured animal cell known in the art, e.g., COS7 cell and CHO cell.

According to the present invention, a method for producing the protein of the invention comprises culturing the host cell and then isolating the recombinant protein from cultured media and/or cells, for example, cell extract thereof, and optionally purifying the protein to give a substantially purified form. The isolation of the recombinant protein can be carried out in accordance with the standard technique in the art. The protein can be also isolated from a water-insoluble fraction of the cells by treating one or more solubilizing agents known in the art. Purification of the recombinant protein can be conducted by any procedure known in the art.

In a different embodiment of the present invention, a method for producing the protein comprises subjecting the recombinant expression vector to in vitro translation, isolating the recombinant protein expressed, and optionally purifying the protein to give a substantially purified form. The in vitro translation for producing the protein can be performed by a method known in the art (see, e.g., Spirin, A. S., et. al., Science 242 (1988), pp. 1162–1164; and Patnaik, R. & Swartz, J. R. BioTechniques 24 (1998), pp. 862–868). Commercially available in vitro translation kits (e.g., TNT in vitro Transcription-translation kit; Promega) may be used for the in vitro translation.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the method for producing the protein of the invention further comprises renaturing the protein in the presence of a solvent such as one or more polyhydric alcohols for the reactivation of its enzyme activity, and optionally preserving the protein in the solvent. According to the invention, the luciferase and/or the photoprotein can be preserved over a long period of time without decreasing the luminescence activity.

Examples of polyhydric alcohols as a solvent may include, but not limited to, glycerol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, dextran, mannitol, sorbitol, inositol, xylitol, sucrose, fructose and glucose. Preferable one is glycerol, polyethylene glycol, or polypropylene glycol, and glycerol is more preferable for preventing the protein from decreasing its enzyme activity. The concentration of one or more polyhydric alcohols is in the range of from 10 to 90% (v/w), preferably from 30 to 90% (v/w), more preferably from 50 to 70% (v/w).

In another embodiment of the present invention, a protein constituting the luciferase and capable of stabilizing the luciferase contains one or more units of leucine-rich repeating sequence consisting of:

(Leu/Ile)-Xaa-Xaa-Leu-Xaa-(Leu/Ile)-Xaa-Xaa-Asn-Xaa-(Leu/Ile)-Xaa-Xaa-Xaa-Pro

wherein each Xaa may be any one of essential amino acids. This leucine-rich repeating structure is found in the amino acid sequence of the 35 kDa protein as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, a protein containing the above repeated sequence may be capable of stabilizing the luciferase as well as the 35 kDa protein.

Further, the invention provides a polyclonal or monoclonal antibody which is arisen against the luciferase of the invention, the 19 kDa or 35 kDa protein, or an immunogenic fragment thereof, and which can specifically bind to the luciferase and/or the protein. Examples of an antigen, which may be used for the preparation of the antibody according to the present invention, include a protein from a natural source, a recombinant protein, a partially degraded product thereof and a synthetic peptide produced on the basis of the amino acid sequences of the proteins according to the invention. Such synthetic peptides comprise at least 5 contiguous amino acid residues, preferably 10–15 contiguous amino acid residues selected from the sequence consisting of amino acids at positions 28–196 of the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 and the sequence consisting of amino acids at positions 40–359 of the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 4.

The antibody of the present invention can be prepared according to the standard technique in the art (see, e.g., Harlow, E. & Lane, D, in Antibodies-Laboratory manual Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, pp. 53–138 (1988)).

The antibody according to the present invention can be used to detect Oplophorus luciferase or a protein as a component of the luciferase. The antibody can also be used for screening other luciferases or photoproteins which are homologous with the luciferase or the protein of the present invention.

Accordingly, the invention also provides a method for detecting or screening a luciferase or photoprotein using the antibody. The method according to the invention can serve to easily identify a luciferase or a photoprotein derived from systematically related species. In this connection, a novel luciferase or photoprotein identified by the present method may be included within a scope of the present invention.

According to the method of the invention, crude extract of other luminous shrimp or other organisms or their tissues containing a photoprotein is used as a sample and detection and/or screening is carried out in the presence of a protein bound to the antibody of the present invention. The detection techniques may include the immunoblotting and the immuno-chromatography.

The expression cloning (see, e.g., Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F., & Maniatis, T., Molecular Cloning-a Laboratory Manual, Second Edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, pp. 12.3–12.44 (1989)) can also be carried out with a gene library (e.g., a cDNA or genomic library) derived from other luminous shrimp or other organisms or their tissues containing a photoprotein using the antibody of the invention to obtain a novel luciferase or photoprotein or a gene thereof.

The invention also provides an oligonucleotide comprising at least 10 contiguous nucleotides selected from a polynucleotide sequence encoding the 19 kDa protein shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 or a complementary sequence thereto.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the oligonucleotide may be selected from a polynucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 or a complementary sequence thereto.

The invention also provides an oligonucleotide comprising at least 10 contiguous nucleotides selected from a polynucleotide sequence encoding the 35 kDa protein shown in SEQ ID NO: 4 or a complementary sequence thereto.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this oligonucleotide may be selected from a polynucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 3 or a complementary sequence thereto.

The length of the oligonucleotide of the invention is preferably at least 14 nucleotides encoding 5 amino acids, more preferably at least 20 nucleotides encoding 7 amino acids. Further, the oligonucleotide may include a suitable restriction site at its 5′ end. The oligonucleotide can be used to detect a polynucleotide molecule such as DNA or RNA encoding the protein which is one component of the luciferase, by the standard technique known in the art, preferably by a polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) method.

In another embodiment of the invention, a gene library (cDNA or genomic library) derived from other luminous shrimp or other organisms or their tissues containing a photoprotein (enzyme) may be subjected to a suitable cloning, preferably by the PCR method using the oligonucleotide of the invention to isolate a polynucleotide encoding a novel luciferase or a photoprotein.

Thus, the invention also provides a method for detecting and/or screening a gene coding for a luciferase or photoprotein using the oligonucleotide of the invention. Accordingly, a novel gene coding for a novel luciferase or its subunit protein or a novel photoprotein identified by the method of the present invention may be included within a scope of the invention. The method can serve to easily identify a polynucleotide encoding a luciferase or a photoprotein derived from systematically related species, for example, a luciferase having more than 50% homology.

EXAMPLES

The present invention is further illustrated by the following examples. These examples are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

Example 1

Purification and Identification of the Protein Components of Oplophorus Luciferase

The deep-sea luminous shrimp (Oplophorus gracilirostris) obtained in the Suruga Bay, Shizuoka, Japan were used as a starting material. A crude extract containing Oplophorus luciferase was prepared in the same manner as disclosed by Shimomura, et al., in Biochemistry 17 (1978) and further purified by chromatography in two steps. The first step was by hydrophobic interaction chromatography on a column of butyl Sepharose 4 Fast Flow (Pharmacia; 0.7 cm×3.5 cm) using 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.5, eluting with decreasing concentrations of ammonium sulfate starting at 1.5 M. The second step was by gel filtration on a column of Superdex 200 Prep (Pharmacia; 1 cm×48 cm) in 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.5, containing 50 mM NaCl. The molecular weight of Oplophorus luciferase was estimated to be about 106 kDa by gel filtration on the same column when compared with the molecular weight markers as follows: (a) amylase (200 kDa); (b) alcohol dehydrogenase (150 kDa); (c) bovine serum albumin (67 kDa); (d) ovalbumin (45 kDa); (e) carbonic anhydrase (29 kDa); and (f) ribonuclease (13.7 kDa). The results are shown in FIG. 1.

SDS-PAGE analysis (12% polyacrylamide gel) of the purified samples gave two major protein bands corresponding to molecular weights of 35 kDa and 19 kDa, respectively. A solution of purified luciferase (25 μg protein in 0.3 ml) dissolved in 0.1% (w/v) SDS was subjected to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a gel filtration column, TSK 3000SW (Toso; 0.75 cm×30 cm), using 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.7, containing 0.1 M NaCl and 0.1% SDS. The elution profile monitored at 280 nm shows two major components, i.e., 35 kDa and 19 kDa proteins. Thus, native Oplophorus luciferase of about 106 kDa is suggested to be composed of each two subunits of the 35 kDa and 19 kDa proteins.

Example 2

Determination of an Amino Acid Sequence of Oplophorus Luciferase

The amino acid sequence analysis was carried out using Applied Biosystems model 470A gas phase sequencer according to protocols of the manufacturer. Sample proteins for the sequence analysis were prepared as described below.

(1) The two protein bands of the purified luciferase, the 35 kDa and 19 kDa, separated by SDS-PAGE using 12% polyaclylamide gel were transferred electrophoretically onto a polyvinylidene difuoride membrane (Millipore, Bedford, Mass., USA) at 150 mA for 1 hour. The membranes were then stained and the two bands of the 35 kDa and 19 kDa were subjected to sequence analysis to determine their partial amino acid sequences.

(2) The 35 kDa protein was obtained from the native luciferase (50 μg) by reversed phase HPLC on a 5C4 column (Waters; 0.39 cm×15 cm) by gradient elution with increasing concentrations of acetonitrile (0–80% in 80 min; solvent: acetonitrile/water/0.1% trifuoroacetic acid). Then, the peak fractions were collected by monitoring at 220 nm, concentrated under reduced pressure and subjected to sequence analysis to determine their amino acid sequences. The protein was then digested with lysylendopeptidase (Boehringer; sequencing grade) at a weight ratio of enzyme/substrate of 1:50. The peptide fragments obtained were separated by reversed phase HPLC on a 5C8 column (Vydac; 0.46cm×25 cm) by gradient elution with increasing concentrations of acetonitrile (15–55% in 80 min; solvent: acetonitrile/water/0.1% trifuoroacetic acid). The peak fractions were collected by monitoring at 220 nm and subjected to sequence analysis to determine their amino acid sequences.

The amino acid sequences determined as described above were shown below.

The amino acid sequence of the 19 kDa proteins:

THE N-terminal sequence (SEQ ID NO: 5):

Phe-Thr-Leu-Ala-Asp-Phe-Val-Gly-Asp-Trp-Gln-Gln- Thr-Ala-Gly-Tyr-Asn-Gln-Asp-Gln-Val-Leu-Glu-Gln- Gly-Gly-Leu-Ser The amino acid sequence of the,35 kDa proteins:

The N-terminal sequence (SEQ ID NO: 6):

Ala-Val-Ala-Xaa-Pro-Ala-Ala-Glu-Asp-Ile-Ala-Pro-Xaa-Thr-Xaa-Lys-Val-Gly-Glu-Gly-Asp-Val-Met-Asp-Met-Asp-Xaa-Ser-Lys

wherein Xaa represents an undetermined amino acid. The amino acid sequences of the peptide fragments obtained by digestion with lysylendopeptidase:

Val-Thr-Ser-Asp-Ala-Glu-Leu-Ala-Ser-Ile-Phe-Ser-Lys-Thr-Phe-Pro: SEQ ID NO: 7 Asn-Asp-Leu-Ser-Ser-Phe-Pro-Phe-Glu-Glu-Met-Ser-Gln-Tyr-Thr-Lys: SEQ ID NO: 8 Leu-Val-Leu-Gly-Tyr-Asn-Gly-Leu-Thr-Ser-Leu-Pro-Val-Gly-Ala-Ile: SEQ ID NO: 9 Asn-Leu-Asp-Pro-Ala-Val-Phe-His-Ala-Met-Xaa-Gln: SEQ ID NO: 10 wherein Xaa represents an undetermined amino acid.

Example 3

Construction of Oplophorus cDNA Library and Cloning of a Gene Encoding Oplophorus Luciferase

Live specimens of O. gracilirostris obtained in the Suruga Bay were frozen on dry ice and stored at −80° C. until used. Total RNA was prepared by the guanidine isothiocyanate method (see, e.g. Inouye, S. & Tsuji, F. I., FEBS Lett., 315 (1993), pp. 242–246), followed by precipitation with 2M LiCl. The yield of total RNA from two whole specimens (body size: 40 mm length, 2.8 g wet-weight) was approximately 0.9 mg. Then, poly(A)⁺ RNA (2 μg) was isolated by oligo(dT)-cellulose spun-column (Pharmacia, Piscataway, N.J., USA) and subjected to the synthesis of cDNA with dT₁₂₋₁₈ primers using a cDNA synthesis kit (Time saver cDNA synthesis kit; Pharmacia) according to Kakizuka, et al. (Essential Developmental Biology, Stern, C. D. ed., IRL Press, Oxford, U.K., pp. 223–232 (1993)). The synthesized cDNAs (20 ng) were ligated with EcoRI/NotI linker. Then, cDNAs were ligated with 1 μg of EcoRI digested/calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase-treated λZapII vector (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif., USA) in a total volume of 5 μl at 4° C. for 16 hours and then packaged in vitro using Gigapack Gold III packaging kit (Stratagene). The titer of the cDNA library was 1.1×10⁶ plaque-forming units.

Example 4

Preparation of Synthesized Oligonucleotide for Probes and PCR Primers

For the isolation of cDNA clone encoding the 19 kDa or 35 kDa protein from the cDNA library, the sequences of the oligonucleotides were designed based on the information of the amino acid sequences determined in Example 2. The oligonucleotides chemically synthesized according to the standard technique were used for the screening or PCR method.

As to an amino acid sequence Ala-Gly-Tyr-Asn-Gln-Asp-Gln (SEQ ID NO: 11) corresponding to the 19 kDa protein, oligonucleotide probe SOL-2: 5′-GCN-GGN-TA-(T/C)-AA(T/C)-CA(A/G)-GA(T/C)-CA-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 13) was synthesized. As to an amino acid sequence Gly-Asp-Val-Met-Asp-Met-Asp (SEQ ID NO: 12) corresponding to the 35 kDa protein, the oligonucleotide probe OL-3: 5′-GTN-GT(T/C)-GTN-ATG-GA(T/C)-ATG-TC-3′(SEQ ID NO: 14) was synthesized.

Example 5

Isolation of Clones Encoding the 19 kDa and 35 kDa Proteins of Oplophorus Luciferase

The Oplophorus cDNA library obtained in Example 3 was screened by the plaque hybridization technique according to Wallace, R. B., et al. (Nuel. Acids Res., 9 (1981), pp. 879–894 using synthetic oligonucleotide probes, SOL-2 for the 19 kDa protein or OL-3 for the 35 kDa protein. SOL-2 and OL-3 were labeled with [γ-³²P] (3000 Ci/mmol) at their 5′-end for use as a probe.

Thirty-five thousand independent plaques (per 15 cm LB-plate including 1.2% agalose/1% bactotryptone/0.5% yeast extract/0.5% NaCl, pH 7.2) were lifted onto two membrane filters, then cross-linked with Stratagene UV cross-linker. The filters were prehybridized in 20 ml of the hybridization solution containing 900 mM NaCl/90 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0)/6 mM EDTA/0.2% bovine serum albumin/0.2% polyvinyl-pyroridon/0.2% Ficoll/1% SDS/0.05% salmon sperm DNA at 50° C. for 1 hour, and hybridized with the labeled probes for 16 hours. After the hybridization, the filter was washed three times in SSC containing 300 mM NaCl/30 mM sodium citrate at room temperature and subjected to the autoradiography. Resultant positive plaques were picked up and subjected to the second screening, which was carried as described above, and then each single phage clone was isolated. The cDNA inserts were excised as pBluescript phagemids (Stratagene). Resultantly, one positive clone was isolated from 300,000 independent plaques using SOL-2 probe and 9 positive clones were isolated from 70,000 independent plaques using OL-3 probe.

Example 6

Preparation of Recombinant Plasmid Vectors

The recombinant plasmid DNA for each clone obtained in Example 5 was prepared from Escherichia coli by the alkaline lysis method. One positive clone from SOL-2 for the 19 kDa protein was designated as pKAZ-412. On the other hand, restriction enzyme analysis of nine positive clones from OL-3 for the 35 kDa provided identical restriction maps and thus the longest clone was designated as pOL-23.

Example 7

Nucleotide Sequence Analysis and Identification of the Luciferase Gene

The nucleotide sequence of each clone was determined by the dye-terminator cycle sequencing method using Applied Biosystems DNA sequencers. The nucleotide sequences of the clones are shown in SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 3, and their deduced amino acid sequences are shown in SEQ ID NOS: 2 and 4.

The 19 kDa protein consists of 196 amino acid residues including a putative signal peptide sequence for secretion, which correspond to the nucleotide sequence of positions 46–633 of the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1. From the results of the N-terminal sequence analysis in Example 2, the mature protein is expected to consist of 169 amino acid residues corresponding to an amino acid sequence of positions 28–196 of the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 and to have a calculated molecular mass of 18,689.50 and an estimated pI value of 4.70.

The 35 kDa protein consists of 359 amino acid residues including a putative signal peptide sequence for secretion, which correspond to the nucleotide sequence of positions 79–1155 of the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 3. From the results of the N-terminal sequence analysis in Example 2, the mature protein is expected to consist of 328 amino acid residues corresponding to an amino acid sequence of positions 40–359 of the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 4 and to have a calculated molecular mass of 34,837.08 and an estimated pI value of 4.61.

The amino acid sequences of the peptide fragments determined in Example 2 were completely identical with the deduced amino acid sequence in SEQ ID NOS: 2 and 4. Therefore, it is confirmed that pKAZ-412 and pOL-23 cloned according to the invention encode the 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins of Oplophorus luciferase, respectively.

Example 8

Homology Search for the Sequences of Oplophorus Luciferase Shown SEQ ID NOS: 1 to 4

Regarding the nucleotide sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 3 and the amino acid sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 2 and 4, their sequence homology was studied by a gene database search with all the database registered for the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) using computer programs such as FASTA and BLAST. The nucleotide sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 3 were searched for all nucleotide sequences deposited. The amino acid sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 2 and 4 were searched for all amino acid sequences deposited and amino acid sequences deduced from the nucleotide sequences deposited. However, the nucleotide sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 3 have no significant homology with any sequence deposited. The amino acid sequences shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 and 4 also have no significant homology with any deposited sequence. Particularly, they have no significant homology with Renilla luciferase (36 kDa; Genebank, M63501), aequorin (21.5 kDa; Genebank, L29571), Renilla luciferin binding protein (20.5 kDa; SWISS-PRO, P05938), Cypridina luciferase (58.5 kDa; Genebank, M25666), firefly luciferase and bacterial luciferase.

The amino acid sequence of the 19 kDa protein shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 has low homology [26% identity (44/169) and 49% similarity (83/169)] to D3-S1 domain (residues 217–392) of E. coli amine oxidase (Accession No. pir 140924). The sequence also has low homology [28% identity (13/47): 51% similarity (24/47)] with the amino-terminal region of a fatty acid binding protein (GenBank, L23322), whereas no functional relationship between the 19 kDa protein and these proteins was detected.

As shown in FIG. 2, the amino acid sequence of the 35 kDa protein shown in SEQ ID NO: 4 contains leucine-rich repeating structures consisting of: (Leu/Ile)-Xaa-Xaa-Leu-Xaa-(Leu/Ile)-Xaa-Xaa-Asn-Xaa-(Leu/Ile)-Xa-a-Xaa-Xaa-Pro wherein each xaa represents any amino acid residue.

Example 9

Preparation of Antibodies Against Oplophorus Luciferase and Western Blot Analysis

Purified native Oplophorus luciferase (80 μg) obtained in Example 1 was used to immunize a female New Zealand White rabbit according to the standard technique in the art. The resultant anti-Oplophorus luciferase serum (dilution: 500) was used for Western blot analysis as previously reported (Inouye, S., et al., Anal. Biochem., 201: 114–118 (1992)). The antibody specifically recognized the 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins (FIG. 3). Thus, using the antibody obtained, it is possible to detect or search the Oplophorus luciferase and other luciferases with the similar primary structure or conformation.

Example 10

Preparation of Plasmid Expressing the Protein Constituting Oplophorus Luciferase

The recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli or a cultured cell line by inserting the recombinant vector pKAZ-412 or pOL-23 obtained in Example 6 into the expression vector system. The restriction map of the expression vectors used in this example is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

(1) The expression vector for E. coli can be constructed by amplifying a DNA fragment encoding either the 19 kDa or 35 kDa protein, i.e., the DNA fragment corresponding to positions 28–196 of an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 or positions 40–359 of an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 4 by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and inserting the DNA fragment into a suitable restriction enzyme site of pTrcHis-B (Invitrogen, La Jolla, Calif.) containing a histidine-tag.

More specifically, for the construction of the expression vector for the 19 kDa protein, the desired DNA fragment was amplified by PCR reaction (25 cycles; 1 min at 94° C., 1 min at 50° C., 1 min at 72° C.) with PCR kit (Nippon Gene, Toyama, Japan) using pKAZ-412 as a template and a primer set; KAZ-3 (SEQ ID NO: 15): 5′-CCGGCTAGC-TTT-ACG-TTG-GCA-GAT-TTC-GTT-GGA-3′ (NheI site underlined) and T7-BcaBEST (SEQ ID NO: 16): 5′-TAATAC-GACTCACTATAGGG-3′, digested with NheI/XhoI and inserted into NheI/XhoI site of pTrcHis-B to provide the expression vector pHis-KAZ.

For the construction of the expression vector for the 35 kDa protein, the desired DNA fragment was amplified by the PCR reaction in the same manner as the above except for using pOL-23 as a template and a primer set; OL-7 (SEQ ID NO: 17): 5′-CCGTCTAGA-GCT-GTT-GCC-TGT-CCT-GCA-GCC-3′(XbaI site underlined) and OL-8 (SEQ ID NO: 18): 5′-GCCGTCGAC-TTA-TTG-GCA-CAT-TGC-ATG-GAA-3′; SalI site underlined), digested with XbaI/SalI and then inserted into the NheI/XhoI site of pTrcHis-B (Invitrogen) to provide the expression plasmid pHis-OL.

(2) The expression vector for a cultured animal cell can be constructed by amplifying a DNA fragment encoding either the 19 kDa or 35 kDa proteins, i.e., the DNA fragment corresponding to positions 28–196 of an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 or positions 40–359 of an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 4 by PCR method, digesting with NheI/XhoI and then inserting the DNA fragment into the NheI/XbaI site of pRL-CMV priviously digested with NheI/XbaI.

More specifically, the expression vectors for the 19 kDa protein, pSKAZ-CMV containing a putative signal sequence for secretion and pKAZ-CMV not containing the signal sequence were constructed in the same manner as described in (1) using the following primers;

KAZ-1: 5′-CCGGCTAGCCACC-ATG-GCG-TAC-TCC-ACT- (SEQ ID NO: 19) CTG-TTC-ATA-3′ (NheI site underlined) KAZ-2: 5′-CCGGCTAGCCACC-ATG-TTT-ACG-TTG-GCA- (SEQ ID NO: 20) GAT-TTC-GTT-GGA-3′ (NheI site underlined) KAZ-5: 5′-CCGCTCTA-GAA-TTA-GGC-AAG-AAT-GTT- (SEQ ID NO: 21) CTC-GCA-AAG-CC-T-3′ (XbaI site underlined).

For the construction of pSKAZ-CMV, KAZ-1 and KAZ-5 were used. For the construction of pKAZ-CMV, KAZ-2 and KAZ-5 were used.

The expression vectors for the 35 kDa protein, pSOL-CMV containing a putative signal sequence for secretion and pOL-CMV not containing the signal sequence were constructed in the same manner as described in (1) using the following primers;

OL-4: 5′-CCGGCTAGCCACC-ATG-GCT-GTC-AAC-TTC- (SEQ ID NO: 22) AAG-TTT-3 (NheI site underlined) OL-5: 5′-CCGGCTAGCCACC-ATG-GCT-GTT-GCC-TGT- (SEQ ID NO: 23) CCT-GCA-GCC-3′ (NheI site underlined) OL-6: 5′-CCGCTCTAGAA-TTA-TTG-GCA-CAT-TGC- (SEQ ID NO: 24) ATG-GAA-3′ (XbaI site underlined).

For the construction of pSOL-CMV, OL-4 and OL-6 were used. For the construction of pOL-CMV, OL-5 and OL-6 were used.

Example 11

Expression of the Protein Constituting Oplophorus Luciferase in Cell-Free Expression System

Using the expression vector, pKAZ-CMV, PSKAZ-CMV, pOL-CMV or pSOL-CMV prepared in Example 10, the 19 kDa or 35 kDa protein constituting Oplophorus luciferase was expressed by means of the in vitro transcription-translation system. As a positive control, pRL-CMV expressing Renilla luciferase was used. The in vitro transcription-translation system is capable of producing a protein from a recombinant plasmid or mRNA prepared from the plasmid and is particularly useful for the luminescence system with high sensitivity for the detection. In this Example, a commercially available in vitro translation kit (TNT in vitro transcription/translation kit; Promega) was used. A fraction of microsomal membranes capable of cleaving the signal sequence for secretion was also added in order to confirm the existence of the signal sequence in the expressed proteins. The in vitro translation mixture (25 μl in total) containing 0.5 μg of the plasmid DNA, 20 μl of rabbit reticulocyte lysate, 1 μl of 1 mM methionine and 2.5 μl of microsomal membranes was incubated at 30° C. for 90 min and then 1 μl of the mixture was subjected to the measurement of its luminescent activity. A luminescent reaction mixture (100 μl in total) contains 1 μg of coelenterazine in 50 mM Tris-HCl/10 mM EDTA (pH 7.6). The reaction was started by the addition of a test sample and the intensity of the luminescence was measured by the luminometer. Results are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Expression of the protein(s) of Oplophorus Luciferase in Cell-free system Addition of Luminescence Expression Microsomal activity Plasmid Expressed protein membrane (rlu) pRL-CMV Renilla Luciferase − 3253.3 pKAZ-CMV 19 kDa Protein − 1242.0 pSKAZ-CMV 19 kDa Protein + Signal − 3.0 sequence pSKAZ-CMV 19 kDa Protein + Signal + 65.0 sequence pOL-CMV + 35 kDa + 19 kDa − 581.2 pKAZ-CMV Proteins pOL-CMV 35 kDa Protein − <0.001 pSOL-CMV 35 kDa Protein + Signal − <0.001 sequence pSOL-CMV 35 kDa Protein + Signal + <0.001 sequence None No addition − <0.001

Significant luminescence activity was found in the 19 kDa protein expressed with pKAZ-CMV. The activity of pSKAZ-CVM, which was lower than that of pKAZ-CMV, was about 20-fold increased by the addition of microsomal membranes. Thus, it was confirmed that the 19 kDa protein had a putative signal sequence for secretion at its N-terminal. Replacing this signal sequence by any other known signal sequence that is efficiently cleaved may solve the problem concerning the signal sequences for secretion.

In addition, the Western blot analysis using the antibody prepared in Example 5 shows the in vitro expression of the 19 kDa or 35 kDa protein.

Example 12

Expression of the Protein Constituting Oplophorus Luciferase in E. coli

E. coli host strain, BL21, was transformed with the expression vectors, pHis-KAZ and pHis-OL constructed in Example 10 and pTrcHis-B as a control plasmid in the standard technique in the art. One hundred microliter of overnight culture was transfered to Luria-Bertani (LB) broth containing 50 μg/ml of ampicillin and cultured for 2 hr at 37° C. Protein production was induced by the addition of isopropyl-β-thio-galactopyranoside (the final concentration: 0.2 mM) at 37° C. in LB broth. After incubation for 3 hours, cells were harvested and then subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis to detect the protein products. As a result, two major bands corresponding to molecular weights of 20 kDa and 36 kDa were observed. The molecular size of these products appeared larger because the proteins further comprises 14 amino acid residues containing 6 histidines for purification with a Nickel-chelated column. In the Western blot analysis, these bands were specifically recognized by both the anti-His monoclonal antibody (Qiagen) and the anti-luciferase antibody obtained in Example 9. These facts mean that the expressed proteins are the 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins of Oplophorus luciferase, which contain the histidine-sequence at the N-terminal.

The protein production was induced by IPTG as described above. The cells were harvested from 1 ml of the culture by centrifugation at 10,000 rpm and then disrupted by sonication in 1 ml of a sonication buffer (30 mM Tris-HCl/10 mM EDTA, pH 7.6). After centrifugation at 10,000 rpm at 4° C., the supernatant was collected and used as the cell extract for the luminescence assay. One μg of coelenterazine or bisdeoxycoelenterazine was added as a substrate into the cell extract and the intensity of the luminescence was measured by the luminometer. The results are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Expression of the protein(s) of Oplophorus Luciferase in E. coli Add. of Luminescence activity (rlu) Strain/Host IPTG Coelenterazine Bisdeoxycoelenterazine pHis-KAZ/BL21 − 220 170 pHis-KAZ/BL21 + 14,700 12,800 pHis-OL/BL21 − 13 13 pHis-OL/BL21 + 15 13 pTrcHis-B/BL21 − 10 10 pTrcHis-B/BL21 + 13 12

In this example, one relative luminescence unit (rlu) corresponds to about 1.25×10⁷ photons/second. Table 3 shows that the luminescence activity of the strain transformed with pHis-KAZ is approximately 10,000-fold higher than those of pTrcHis-B as a negative control and pHis-OL. Therefore, the above results demonstrate that only the 19 kDa protein out of the 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins constituting Oplophorus luciferase has the luminescence activity and that the 19 kDa protein can independently generate the luminescence and can utilize both of coelenterazine and bisdeoxy-coelenterazine as a substrate. These facts suggest that the 35 kDa protein in the luciferase is functionally involved not in the substrate specificity but in the stability of the luciferase such as heat-resistance property.

Example 13

Expression of the Protein Constituting Oplophorus Luciferase in Mammalian Cells

Expression of the proteins as a component of Oplophorus luciferase in mammalian cultured cells COS7 was conducted using the expression plasmids pKAZ-CMV, PSKAZ-CMV, pOL-CMV and pSOL-CMV constructed in Example 10 and pRL-CMV expressing Renilla luciferase as a control for the transfection of the host. COS7 cells (2×10⁵ cells) were grown in a 35 mm well-plate containing 3 ml of Dulbecco's modified Eagle's media (Gibco BRL, Rockville, Md., USA) supplemented with 10% (v/v) heat-inactivated fetal calf serum (Gibco BRL), 100 U/ml penicillin and 100 μg/ml of streptomycin. The cells were cultured at 37° C. for 24 hours and then transfected with 2 μg of each plasmid DNA using FuGENE6 transfection reagent (Rosche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). After further incubation for 36 hours, cells were separated from cultured media by centrifugation. The separated cells were suspended in 0.5 ml of phosphate-buffered saline, and subjected to repeated freeze-thawing at a temperature between 37° C. and −80° C. to obtain a cell extract. One μg of coelenterazine or bisdeoxy-coelenterazine was added as a substrate into the cell extract and the intensity of the luminescence was measured by the luminometer. The results are shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Expression of the protein(s) of Oplophorus Luciferase in COS7 cell Luminescence activity (rlu) in Cell extracts in Medium Bisdeoxy- Expression vector Coelenterazine Coelenterazine coelenterazine pRL-CMV 2.86 2,059.5 2.61 pKAZ-CMV 3.62 2,273.0 2,124.0 pSKAZ-CMV 1.89 297.5 217.0 pOL-CMV 2.45 <0.001 <0.001 pSOL-CMV 2.14 <0.001 <0.001 None 1.92 <0.001 <0.001

The significant luminescence was observed in the extracts from the cells transfected with plasmids, pKAZ-CMV, pSKAZ-CMV and pRL-CMV as a positive control. For pSKAZ-CMV, a low secretional efficiency into the medium is consistent with the results in Example 11. The luminescent intensity from pKAZ-CMV is equivalent to that from pRL-CMV which is commercially available. This suggests that the gene coding for the 19 kDa protein derived from Oplophorus luciferase may be a good candidate for use as a new reporter protein in mammalian cell systems.

Example 14

Isolation and Renaturation of the Insoluble Protein Expressed in E. coli

E. coli cells constructed in Example 12 which contain the expression vector pHis-KAZ and express the 19 kDa protein were disrupted by the sonication in 20 ml of a buffer comprising 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5. After centrifugation (12,000×g, 20 minutes), the precipitated fraction was subjected to the solubilization by treating with 20 ml of 20, mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5 containing 8 M urea and then centrifuged (12,000×g, 20 minutes) to afford a soluble fraction. SDS-PAGE analysis of this fraction shows approximately 95% yield of the 19 kDa protein (data not shown). Subsequently, the soluble fraction was subjected to the nickel-chelated column chromatography and the desired protein was eluted by the linear gradient of imidazole from 0 to 0.3 M to give approximately 95% purity.

The resultant protein has no luminescence activity at this state. Consequently, the protein was subjected to the renaturation step by treating with glycerol (the final concentration: from 0 to 90% (v/w)) as a solvent at 25° C. for 30 minutes to afford the 19 kDa protein renatured. As described above, the intensity of the luminescence was measured by the luminometer. Results are shown in Table 5.

TABLE 5 Conc. of glycerol Luminescence Activity (%, v/w) (rlu)  0 83 (1.0) 10 147 (1.8) 20 375 (4.5) 30 1,258 (15.2) 40 1,818 (24.9) 50 3,822 (46.0) 60 4,860 (58.6) 70 4,462 (53.8) 80 2,842 (34.2) 90 2,536 (30.6)

As shown in the above table, the 19 kDa protein solubilized by the buffer containing a high concentration of urea could be renatured by treating with glycerol. Particularly, glycerol concentration at 50% to 70% could significantly renature the luminescence activity of the protein.

Subsequently, the 19 kDa protein renatured was subjected to the preservation test, which comprises preserving the protein in the absence or presence of 50% (v/w) or 70% (v/w) glycerol at 4° C. for 30 days and then measuring its luminescence activity as mentioned above. The activity of the protein significantly decreased in the absence of glycerol, whereas in the presence of glycerol, the luminescence activity was maintained without decreasing. These results are shown in Table 6.

TABLE 6 Luminescence activity Concentration of Preserving after preservation glycerol temperature (rlu) (%, v/w) (° C.) 0 day 30 days  0 4   102   23 50 4 3,840 3,734

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention elucidates that the luciferase derived from the deep-sea shrimp, Oplophorus gracilirostris, is composed of the 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins. Isolation of the 19 kDa and 35 kDa proteins from the Oplophorus gracilirostris and cloning of the genes encoding them can be achieved according to the invention. The recombinant vectors, the host cell such as a cultured animal cell or a microorganism transformed with the recombinant vector provided by the invention are used to produce the luciferase or the proteins of the invention in a large amount.

The luciferase or the 19 kDa protein can be utilized for various methods for the measurement or analysis as a reporter.

The antibody and oligonucleotide of the invention can be utilized for detecting the presence of a luciferase or the proteins constituting the enzyme and for cloning a gene encoding other luciferases. More specifically, they may be used for identification of a novel luciferase or photoprotein from systematically related species. 

1. An isolated or purified polynucleotide encoding a protein selected from the group consisting of a protein comprising residues 28–196 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and a protein comprising residues 40–359 of SEQ ID NO: 4; or the complete complement of said polynucleotide.
 2. The polynucleotide of claim 1 that encodes an Oplophorus luciferase or a subunit thereof.
 3. The polynucleotide of claim 1 that encodes an Oplophgrous gracilirostris luciferase.
 4. The polynucleotide of claim 1 that encodes a luciferase subunit having a molecular mass of about 19 kDa.
 5. The polynucleotide of claim 1 that encodes a luciferase subunit having a molecular mass of about 35 kDa.
 6. An isolated or purified that comprises nucleotides 46–633 of SEQ ID NO: 1 luciferase activity.
 7. An isolated or purified polynucleotide that encodes a protein comprising residues 28–196 of SEQ ID NO:
 2. 8. The complete complement of the polynucleotide of claim
 6. 9. A composition comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 6. 10. A vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 6. 11. A host cell comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 6. 12. A method for making a protein having a luciferase activity comprising culturing the host cell of claim 11 under conditions suitable for protein expression and recovering the expressed protein.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising renaturing the expressed protein in the presence of one or more polyhydric alcohols.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the polyhydric alcohol is selected from the group consisting of glycerol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, dextran, mannitol, sorbitol, inositol, xylitol, sucrose, fructose and glucose.
 15. An isolated or purified that comprises nucleotides 79–1155 of SEQ ID NO: 3 activity on luciferase.
 16. An isolated or purified polynucleotide that encodes a protein comprising residues 40–359 of SEQ ID NO:
 4. 17. The complete complement of the polynucleotide of claim
 15. 18. A composition comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 15. 19. A vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 15. 20. A host cell comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 15. 21. A method for making a protein having a stabilizing activity on luciferase comprising culturing the host cell of claim 20 under conditions suitable for protein expression.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising renaturing the expressed protein in the presence of one or more polyhydric alcohols.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the polyhydric alcohol is selected from the group consisting of glycerol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, dextran, mannitol, sorbitol, inositol, xylitol, sucrose, fructose and glucose. 